Toxic Nation | Pollution. It's In You.

As we've talked about in previous blogs, the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) is working hard to get a ban on lawn pesticides in Nova Scotia. CAPE was one of the groups that helped get a law to ban lawn pesticides in Ontario last year.

Gideon Forman, Executive Director of Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), is working to win a pesticide ban in Nova Scotia and could use your help. So it would be great if you could take a minute to e-mail the following message to the Nova Scotia government (policy@gov.ns.ca):

I support Nova Scotia's proposed ban on the sale and use of non-essential pesticides because the ban will protect our health and environment.

The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) is working to win a pesticide ban in Calgary. Calgary (with 1 million people) is the largest city in Canada with no pesticide restrictions. CAPE is hoping you can take a minute to send the following message to three Calgary aldermen - and it doesn't matter if you don't live in Calgary as these aldermen need to hear from citizens like you from across Canada.

Dear Alderman,

As a concerned citizen, I urge you to support a strong pesticide bylaw in Calgary.

Thank you.

Playing at the Montréal World Film Festival this fall, A Chemical Reaction is a documentary that tells the story of the historic court case in 2000-2001 between the town of Hudson, which enacted a by-law to ban the use of chemical pesticides and herbicides, and some of the most powerful chemical companies in North America.

The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment is campaigning for a lawn-pesticide ban in New Brunswick, and they need your help!

Even if you live outside the province, it is important that Canadians work together to ban pesticides across the country.

E-mail the following message to Premier Shawn Graham (Shawn.Graham@gnb.ca), and show your support for a healthy, toxic-free New Brunswick:

Dear Premier,

New Brunswick is on the brink of introducing legislation which would ban the use of cosmetic pesticides, following a new ban in Ontario, and Quebec’s pioneering ruling.

This comes after a recent push by Prince Edward Island Environment Minister Richard Brown, who wants all three Maritime Provinces to legislate the ban. He states that an umbrella ban over the three provinces would protect consumers from buying banned products in nearby locations.

 A new U.S. study, published in the medical journal Acta Paediatrica, has found children conceived in the spring or summer have an increased risk of being born with birth defects, possibly as a result of pesticide exposure.

In a study published this past year in the BMC (BioMed Central) Neurology journal, researchers found that pesticide exposure can increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease in an individual by up to 60%. The study provides one of the strongest arguments yet for the relationship between pesticide use and the well-known disease.

On November 7th Ontario released regulations for its new pesticide ban. The ban, if approved, could go into effect as early as this coming spring.

The current regulations are strict on the protection of human health, but the chemical industry is lobbying intensely to weaken them.  

We need your help to make sure that this ban remains strong and intact!

Tell  Ontario that you strongly support the new pesticide regulations.

In wake of the recent bans on cosmetic pesticides in Ontario and Quebec, discussion is now turning to the possible risks farm pesticides may pose on human health. Spraying of agricultural pesticides represents the leading use of bug and weed killers in the country, yet farms are one of the few exceptions in both provincial bans.